Both of Showtime's Sunday dramas, Ray Donovan and Dexter, grew from last week's premieres in Total Viewers. Ray Donovan garnered 1.56 million Total Viewers at 10PM, up 15 percent from 1.35 million for the series premiere. The July 7 episode garnered a total of 2.2 million viewers including two repeat telecasts at 11PM and 1 AM. This marks the show as the first Showtime series ever to gain viewers from its first to second episode.

The network's flasgship series Dexter also rose week-to-week delivering 2.52million viewers, up from last week's 2.48.

The total viewer count is realistically all that matters for Showtime since its revenue comes from subscribers, not ads aimed at 18-49.

In any event, no surprise on Dexter. Last week’s premiere wasn’t good, but it’s not the kind of show that owes its ratings to week-over-week quality (hell, not even season-over-season quality, as its ratings remain strong after 2 crap seasons and one mediocre one).

The Ray Donovan growth is a bit more shocking; the most likely explanation is that some of the pilot’s on-demand viewers watched it live this week. Show is essentially a slow, boring, poorly-acted version of Scandal…can’t believe people are convincing themselves it’s “good.”

thechampishere

can’t believe your trying to convince yourself it’s “not good”

Richard

I like both of these shows. Glad to see that both are doing well, they deserve it.

Colin

lol..some idiots were bashing Ray Donovan so much and now they have to be very disppointed that people actually like the show.^^ Keep bashing, who cares. Expecting renewal very soon.

John A

So far not impressed with the final season of Dexter.

Dan S

I plan on watching both Dexter & Ray Donovan tonight. Based on the pilot for RD I liked what I saw & expect to hear of a renewal very soon. With Dexter ending they need a new show that’ll keep subscribers from fleeing SHO.

Spartacus 6666

Don’t know what you’re talking about Daw Johnson. Ray is south better than we thought it was going to be. Very well acted with interesting characters. With the endless misery of celebrities this show can be riveting. Have to say Dexter is on its last legs with the perpetually whining Debra sucking the air out of every scene she’s in. Perhaps you were watching True Bore or Game of Bores or any if the endless tediously boring shows that HBO has produced over the years. That’s Horribly Boring Odious.

samurai99

Legitimately impressed by Ray Donovan. Show is still incredibly stupid though. Of course I wouldn’t expect a spartacus fanboy to recognize good acting or writing.

Juan

The total viewer argument is as smart as Sam. When people bring it up it’s clear they have not put much if any thought in it. Kids under the age of 18 shouldn’t even be watching these soft core porn programs. Those that do are not likely to be paying the bills. Seniors over the age of 54 are highly unlikely to watch these programs either. A demog of 18-54 then represents the vast majority of paying subscribers watching these programs. Those over 49 are far less representative than those under 25 in that demog. Since these are typically higher income HH’s where 2 parents are present, it’s more likely the woman of the house is the deciding factor in whether to get a premium channel & which one to choose.

Daniel

@Juan Why do you think the woman decides what premium channels to choose?

Juan

Because they are most likely to manage the finances of the HH. That’s true of 2 parent homes as well as single mom homes. There are far more single mom home’s in America than there are single dad homes.

samurai99

@Juan

Why do you embarrass yourself pretending premium cable cares about demo? Everyone on this site knows better than that.

Juan

Everyone? No. Just dumbasses like you Sam incapable of thinking logically about anything.

Mary

I think viewers are still in the ‘giving it a chance’ phase. Since Ray comes on after Dexter it isn’t something they have to go out of their way to do. I’m just saying, because that’s how we ended up watching two episodes of Ray. The husband thinks it’s okay, but I think it’s boring. Showtime seems to leaning toward programming meant to appeal to men, but (you’re right, Juan!) I decide what premium channel we have!

Daniel

@Mary What if your husband wants a premium channel, will you subscribe to it?

Mary Greeting

@Daniel The answer is yes, but that has never happened. My experience – mine and women friends I know – has been that men get nuts over having the ESPNs and sports package stuff but the premium pay channels not really. They’ll either find (or not) something they like on whatever pay channel we want to have. Again, this is only my experience,